Australian-made Bellamy's infant formula products have been approved for sale locally by President Joe Biden government in a bid to meet a nationwide shortage of infant formula in the United States, the media Australian reported. That makes MengNiu the first part-state-owned entity in China to gain shelf space directly as a result of the current supply crisis.
Australian organic infant formula brand Bellamy was sold to China MengNiu Dairy in 2019 for A $1.5 billion.
MengNiu will deliver at least 696,000 cans of Bellamy's first/second-stage organic infant formula products to US following approval by the US Food and Drug Administration under the Cautious Infant formula policy.
The group, which is still based in Australia and makes formula here, says it has 300,000 cans available for immediate delivery.
"Bellamy's is also in discussions with several global and specialty retailers to expand the product offering into as many US families as possible, which will help parents struggling to find infant formula to meet their babies' daily nutritional needs," a statement from the group said.
The approval "is the result of a rigorous process that Bellamy's company undertook with the Food and Drug Administration to demonstrate that Bellamy's infant formula meets the requirements for safety and adequate nutrition for American families."
State-owned COFCO, China's largest food processing, manufacturing and trading company, is a major shareholder in China MengNiu.
The first signs of infant formula shortage began as early as la November in the United States. While in February, Abbott Laboratories inc., the largest supplier of milk powder in the United States, recalled several infant formula products due to safety problems and closed its Michigan plant, further exacerbating the "milk powder crisis." Faced with the "infant formula crisis", the US federal government showed slow reaction to respond. It wasn't until May 16 that the Food and Drug Administration announced it would allow foreign infant formula to enter the U.S. market.
